MILEPOST 36 JANUARY 2016 III 28 Class 37s in Scotland From page 330 Photo Dr Peter Darke RPS railway performance society www.railperf.org.uk Milepost 36¾ - January 2016 The Quarterly Magazine of the Railway Performance Society Honorary President: John Heaton FCILT Commitee: CHAIRMAN Frank Collins 10 Collett Way, Frome, Somerset BA11 2XR Tel: 01373 466408 e-mail [email protected] VICE CHAIRMAN Michael Rowe Burley Cottage, Parson St., Porlock,Minehead, Somerset, TA24 8QJ . Tel 01643 862182 E-mail: [email protected] SECRETARY Frank Price, Penn House, Middle Common Rd., Pennington, Lymington (co-opted) SO41 8LE Tel: 01730 233221 Email: [email protected] TREASURER Peter Smith 28 Downsview Ave, Storrington, W Sussex, RH20 (and membership) 4PS. Tel 01903 742684 e-mail: [email protected] EDITOR David Ashley 92 Lawrence Drive, Ickenham, Uxbridge, Middx, UB10 8RW. Tel 01895 675178 E-mail: [email protected] Fastest Times Editor Martin Robertson 23 Brownside Rd, Cambuslang, Glasgow, G72 0NL e-mail: [email protected] Distance Chart Editor Ian Umpleby 314 Stainbeck Rd, Leeds, W Yorks LS7 2LR Tel 0113 266 8588 Email: [email protected] Database/Archivist Lee Allsopp 2 Gainsborough, North Lake, Bracknell, RG12 7WL Tel 01344 648644 e-mail [email protected] Technical Officer David Hobbs 11 Lynton Terrace, Acton, London W3 9DX Tel 020 8993 3788 e-mail [email protected] David Stannard 26 Broomfield Close, Chelford, Macclesfield, Cheshire,SK11 9SL. Tel 01625 861172 e mail: [email protected] Meeting Secretary: Michael Bruce, 234A Otley Rd., West Park, Leeds LS16 5AB Tel 0113 305 0367 E-mail: [email protected] Committee member: David Sage: 93 Salisbury Rd, Burton, Christchurch, Dorset BH23 7JR Tel 01202 249717 E-mail: [email protected] Non-committee official:- Foreign Fastest times: Alan Varley, 285 Chemin de la Costiere, 06000 Nice, France, e-mail: [email protected] Directors of The Rail Performance Data Foundation: RPS nominees: Frank Collins, Peter Smith, Martin Barrett Trustees: Frank Price, John Rishton CONTENTS Martin Barrett Frank Collins 275 Notices 278 Fastest Times Martin Robertson 284 How fast to Leicester? Frank Collins 291 The (not so) Great Britain 2015 Sandy Smeaton 293 Glasgow-Cumbernauld electrification Martin Robertson 296 More early timing experiences John Rishton 300 A4 vs Brush 4 Bill Hemstock 307 Newcastle-Stockton-Northallerton Andrew James 310 Recorder’s guide to SNCF- the end of an era Alan Varley 318 Belgium- further travails David Lloyd-Roberts 325 Letters 327 News: Autumn Chieftain Dr Peter Darke 330 Network Developments Ian Umpleby 333 Chiltern re-opening David Ashley 335 Naismith’s Rule and Govia Thameslink David Ashley 337 Open Rail data – update David Ashley 341 From Stourbridge Junction by Chiltern John Rishton 343 Front Cover: 37218 and 37425 waiting to depart from Perth with the Autumn Chieftain: photo Dr Peter Darke Enclosures : Mass Timing Day Supplements, Membership Renewal forms Copyright The Railway Performance Society Ltd, registered in England & Wales No. 04488089 Milepost 36¾ -273- January 2016 Use of the material in the magazine is permitted only for the private purposes of the reader No material in the magazine can otherwise be used for publication or reproduction in any form without the express permission of the Society The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the RPS, the Editors or any of their advisers. Whilst efforts are made to ensure accuracy, the Editor his advisers and the RPS accept no responsibility for any loss or damage arising from any inaccuracies howsoever caused. Readers are asked to note that the RPS encourages contributions from all members, and articles may appear that are interesting in content, but occasionally may not be to the standard of the rest of the publication. Material sent to the Editors, whether commissioned or freely submitted is provided entirely at the contributors own risk; neither the Editor nor the RPS can be held responsible for any loss or damage howsoever caused. Published by The Railway Performance Society Limited, 92 Lawrence Drive, Ickenham, Uxbridge, Middx, UB10 8RW Printed by Prontaprint Harrow, 7 Central Parade, Station Rd., Harrow, Middx, HA1 2TW. Martin Barrett By Frank Collins As most members will already be aware, long standing RPS Secretary Martin Barrett died very unexpectedly on 12th October 2015 from complications following routine surgery. Martin was well known to many of us, both within the RPS, where he was a member for over 30 years, and in the Railway Industry, as a career railwayman for over 40 years. We will all have many and different memories of Martin; but the level of regard in which he was held by so many was witnessed by the large number of friends and former colleagues who attended the event held by the family in York on 17th November in celebration of Martin’s life. I was privileged to be asked by the family to give the tribute on behalf of the RPS;- It is with great sadness that we are gathered here today but it is my privilege to say a few words on behalf of the Railway Performance Society in recognition of the friendship and hard work that has marked Martin's association with the RPS. It is strange how fate brings people together. In the same way that Martin was one of a generation of railway men who had the good fortune to be able to be paid to do for a living something that they loved; the RPS brought together many railway men to pursue their love of railways away from the day to day professional role, in associations that go back very many years. Testimony to those associations is the number of people here today from the railway world – professionals, RPS members, and those who are from both. John Heaton – now President of the RPS - first encountered Martin in 1967 on a steam- hauled train hurtling towards London at over 100mph, before John joined the railway. Martin and John then worked in adjacent offices here in this building in 1971, before working closely together within the RPS. Noel Proudlock – another long standing RPS member - also worked here and clearly remembers Martin as one of the bright young men who appeared in York following the merger of the Eastern and North Eastern Regions in 1968. The same qualities that Martin displayed in his private life were brought to his career as he worked his way up the ladder to head of permanent train planning. Again, Noel remembers Martin as someone who would always find a way of doing what others deemed too difficult. My own association with Martin goes back around 30 years to when he joined the RPS – working closely with him for most of that time on the Committee, and on the working parties that the RPS put out for a number of years in the 1990s on the Ffestiniog Railway in North Wales Martin once explained to me that his interest in railways started when he was aged about 10 when he first saw copies of Trains Illustrated magazine, and was regularly walking over the footbridge crossing Ilford car sheds on his way to school swimming lessons. I gather he didn’t like swimming. He started timing trains when he was 16, as he put it, by trial and error. His professional interest in train planning meant that he took an interest in all aspects of train planning and performance, however apparently dull, for he had a great sense of recording history for posterity when timing trains. For that we have to thank the wealth of historical data Milepost 36¾ -274- January 2016 that Martin has added to the RPS Archive collection over so many years. But without doubt the highlight of 50 years of train timing for Martin was his following the final week of steam working from Waterloo, back in 1967 Martin performed his RPS honorary roles with diligence, meticulous detail and a keen sense of 'running to time' with whatever task he undertook. In one respect Martin was like many of his railway colleagues in that he was paid for doing work he enjoyed doing, the proof of which probably lies in the articles and analysis he undertook writing reports for investigations the RPS frequently undertakes. On that note I too must be conscious of maintaining the schedule for today’s events. Our memory of Martin within the RPS will be one of a consummate railway professional, a thoroughly honourable man with a quiet but teasing sense of humour but who, above all, was good company. What became clear in the course of the tributes was that there were very much two parts to Martin; the railway side, and the family side, and the two rarely crossed over - save, it seems, when it came to travelling. Martin had become a very proud granddad a few years ago and was even more excited when eldest grandson Casper started to shown all the signs of having his granddad’s ‘train bug’. As Martin’s daughter Claire so wonderfully put it, having spent a lifetime playing with a train set the size of a country, as a granddad he got a lot of pleasure playing with Casper’s toy train set. There were many RPS members present on 17th November. Northbound from Kings Cross that morning resembled a mini RPS Mass Timing Day, so as a tribute to Martin, it seems very fitting to append the runs on the 10.00, 10.30 and 11.00 departures from Kings Cross; respectively a non-stop HST, a semi-fast class 91, and a non-stop class 91. Richard Howlett’s HST seems to have had the least good fortune of the morning.